Destiny (PS4) Alpha Impressions

Destiny isn’t just Borderlands expanded to its natural MMORPG-esque conclusion. No, Destiny actually has enemies with enough brains to dodge and challenge me. It felt like I was playing a larger sequel to Halo: Reach (without the Halo trappings).

Even on “Brave” difficulty, it was immediately apparent that Destiny’s enemies weren’t distant cousins of those found in Borderlands. The smarter ones hide away from sniper fire and will rush me down if they believe they had the advantage. I didn’t notice much diving from grenades like in Reach though. I suspect higher difficulties will reveal more advanced A.I routines.

I don’t want to poo poo on the visuals since this is far from final but first impressions weren’t eye opening to me. I found the textures muddy and low resolution. I look forward to the beta and hope to see an increase in quality in that department. (Then again, they are trying to keep these beta file sizes small, so it could be the same.)

I feel like any other complaint that I levy against Destiny could be attributed to the fact that this is an alpha. But that in itself is high praise for Bungie’s blockbuster. It is fundamentally sound which is what is most important. I even found some enjoyment in the “Crucible”, Destiny’s competitive multiplayer. The 30 FPS framerate took a bit of getting used to but an increase in look sensitivity and a few matches and I was on my way.

Next month, we’ll receive another taste of Destiny. I tried the “soldier” class already and I’m curious how different the “warlock” and “hunter” classes are. All three classes’ silhouette’s aren’t drastically different like in Borderlands or any other class based shooter.

I came away with near universal praise for Destiny after that alpha. I just hope there’s enough interesting and diverse content to keep me interested.